Cruel King

How do you think I feel? Withholding that knowledge from my people? That their happiness... their home... will be gone in only a few years.

Cruel King is a character and boss that can be encountered and is the final boss of Chapter 1. He resides in the throne room at Blackrock Castle.

He took the Ice Dagger (which was previously held within Blackrock Castle) without authorization and held it.

Cruel King is the monarch of the Blackrock Kingdom. Throughout his dialogue, he appears to be only acting to save his kingdom and is dedicated and loyal to protecting the inhabitants of his kingdom. He fights solely to protect the home of his people and even holds the information of Blackrock's failure to maintain peace at the cost of his "restless nights."
Cruel King, who has become an unreliable person due to "the voices" manipulating him. Cruel King seems to be a reasonable and just ruler, even before the Ice Dagger's influence. On his fifth refight a more sane Cruel King apologizes for being immature and not trying to talk things out despite the grasp of the voices he had on his mind and the worries about his kingdom's well-being.

He is merciless in protecting his kingdom and determined that with the power of the Ice Dagger

He wears a dark red (burgundy) military tunic or vest, decorated with horizontal gold stripes and a gold cross on the collar. Draped over his shoulders is a heavy cloak with a voluminous, shaggy gray fur collar. The cloak features gold fringed shoulder pieces (epaulettes) and braided gold cords crossing his chest. On his head, he wears a classic closed gold crown, adorned with colorful jewels (red and green) and a cross at the top. His visible skin is stark white.